This invention relates to a contact and a connector comprising the contact held in an insulator or a housing.
A conventional contact for use in a connector comprises an elastic contact piece to be brought into contact with a mating contact and a cylindrical member surrounding the elastic contact piece and defining a receiving space to receive the mating contact. The cylindrical member is inserted into a contact insertion space formed in the insulator. When the contact is inserted into the contact insertion space, a protrusion formed on a part of the cylindrical member in an axial direction is engaged with the insulator. Thus, the orientation of the contact is discriminated by presence of the protrusion.
However, since the conventional contact described above has the protrusion formed as an additional component, the outer dimension of the whole contact inevitably becomes large. In other words, it is difficult to miniaturize the contact. Furthermore, the cylindrical member can be inserted into the insulator insertion space even in a wrong orientation until the protrusion is engaged with the insulator. Under the circumstances, it is difficult to discriminate the orientation.